Back from Almost Heaven; Colorado

Le & Betty,

Greetings and thanks for the nice gift that I received in the mail from you this week. At this time last week I was descending from the blue skies and mountains surrounding Denver and on the way back to Denver International Airport for the wilds of Columbus, Ohio. Boy am I glad to be home (LOL).

I went to Denver for the forty-fifth anniversary of Eden Theatrical Workshop, a company that was founded in 1963 by my grandmother, Myrtle Scales and Lucy Walker, for the development of the minority acting community. I played at several high profile venues in the area; Wells Fargo Bank, Manual Training High School and the Pine Valley Golf Club.

But my companion, Christine, and I mainly got away to relax from the grind of six busy months of composing, recording, performing, authoring and promoting. The Queen Anne Inn and Mountain Air Ranch were perfect homes for our six days away.

We spent one afternoon in Colorado Springs, where our former governor Dick Celeste is president of Colorado College, founded in 1874. Outside of his office is a bust of Kathrine Lee Bates, the educator and poet who after a visit to Pike's Peak was inspired to the poem, "Oh beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain." Dick gave us the ten dollar tour of his growing campus and was like a proud papa. He is a great fit for the job.

At Mountain Air Ranch, we rented a lodge with three bedrooms, a huge kitchen, fireplace, a pool, hot tub and extensive hiking trails. We spent mornings on our deck reading, eating healthy, maxing and relaxing. We put on our rugged footwear and walk on trails that climbed onto lookout points, where we gazed onto treelined peaks; almost heaven.

When the day of our flight home came, I was so lethargic, I couldn't find the switch that would return to me fast forward mode. But we finally got it together and returned to Denver International and home to a windstorm disaster in Central Ohio.

The Superbowl of Nude Volleyball

I wanted to share with my favorite nude resort experience; The Superbowl of Nude Volleyball at White Thorn Lodge (WTL) in Darlington, PA. Since 1971, Superbowl has been held each year on the weekend following Labor Day, however many volleyball animals cruise into the area, between Pittsburgh and Cleveland, before the holiday and let the good times roll for two straight weekends.
WTL is a member owned, family nudist resort and is very deep in the forests that bridge Pennsylvania and Ohio, in the watershed north of the Ohio River. It is a three hour drive for our volleyball gang from Columbus, though communities that urban folk and suburbanites have never heard; Lisbon, Rogers, Negley, Calcutta. But the drive is just long for us to wind down from our go-go, city ways and be maxxed and relaxed when we arrive at the check-in gate.
It costs fifty dollars for the weekend, upwards to two thousand athletes and family members pack themselves into the large campground that has a clubhouse, heated pool, gazebo-covered hot tub, bocce court, children's playground, rental cabins and snack bar. The players of all skill levels compete on four grass, two sand, three asphalt courts and the South Beaver Volunteer Fire Department is in attendance to "oversee" the players injuries. The uniformed volunteers, a welcome part of this unique community, also sell raffle tickets for prizes, including riding mowers and gardening equipment, to fund the local emergency services operations.
For me the weekend is the unofficial end of summer and since 2003, I have been making new friends from all over North America. Ontario and Quebec, Canada sends the six-time champion Bare Naked Ladies, featuring a woman who is rumored to be a member of the Polish Olympic team some decades back. Lake Como and Caliente send championship teams from Pasco County, Florida; the California players fly into Cleveland, throw their camping gear into rental cars and rough it for a week.
I love to rendezvous with the Chili Peppers from Buffalo, who cook for a week before the event and arrive with a hundred pounds of chili that keeps us in spicy conversation between games. It is so invigorating to see brown, healthy bodies working out in the sun, celebrating the freedom of our natural beauty in sport.
Of course, many of us don't play due to Father Time catching up to the conditions of our joints and ligaments, but club members and non-players are scorekeepers, cooks, trash collectors, yoga participants, musicians, kids games and arts are is session. Why, some folks just work on their tans, because usually after Superbowl, us folks in the Midwest, East and Canada are done with the sun.
When the sun goes down, the firepit gets stoked up, televisons are found for the late football games and a local band or disc jockey fills the clubhouse for the dance. There is a whole lotta' shakin' goin' on too, as well as elbow bending. Many clubs are represented and themed parties celebrate homebrews, martinis, jello shots, Bailey's Irish Creme; I'm sure there are Jamaica celebrations of a sort being fire-up in the deep woods around a fire-pit.
But the reason for our convention is tournament volleyball and Sunday is finals day; each team has one last chance to keep playing for the trophies. By the late afternoon, the focus is the AA classes; the best women's teams seem to be on a level that would rival Olympic play and there will be thousands of eyes watching the ball mysteriously stay within bounds and off the ground. The beautiful Canadian women deserve to carry off the trophy year after year because they play so well; forget that they look so good outta' their uniforms.
In 2006 the Canadian men were in the finals against a great Florida team in afro wigs and kneesox and after one of their huddles, the northerners broke, singing the opening of their national anthem, "Oh Canada..." Soon, a couple of smarties in the boundaries began the chant, "USA, USA!" The national war began and grew with every point in the five game series. The Canadians won the match and the war, but you can image the fever and good humor that grew among a couple thousand naked, sports fans, who don't want the weekend or summer to end.
The Superbowl of Nude Volleyball is a hoot and one year you should put it on your travel schedule. It is not the artistic flamboyance of Burning Man, but it is a celebration that burns quite brightly in my soul.
http://www.whitethornlodge.org/

Jonathan Alder 1968 Class Reunion

The long awaited fortieth reunion of the Jonathan Alder Class of 1968 occurred in a most beautiful style, on a lovely day in mid-August. Forty-seven classmates and three faculty members came out to Fred and Linda Kile's Farm in Plain City to celebrate a lifetime of friendship.

A few classmates, led by Chuck Reed, Michelle Troyer, Carol Shyers, Mary Detweiler Young, Lynn Church, Andy and Bev Greenbaum, showed up Friday evening, August 15, 2008, to begin the preparations and decorate the party barn at the Kile's property, on Route 161, just north of the town's limits. David Mitchell's truck brought tables and chairs from the Plain City V.F.W. Lodge, where he is commander.

Arnett Howard and his musical friends rolled onto the property at 1:30 pm., on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon to begin setup for the live music to begin at three o'clock. The entire Greenbaum Family was on hand to carve up the roasted pig that they had donated to the afternoon's feast of salads, sweets and beverages. Then the parking area began to fill with alumni and spouses.

The band didn't need leadership, as the leader was busy remaking friends with classmates unseen since June, 1968 when the thirteenth graduating class of the small, Madison County high school received their diplomas. Jobs at the local Ranco Controls awaited some graduates, like Mary Detweiler and Kathy Thompson, military service awaited Chuck and Andy, while Grace Hostetler, Susan George, Linda Flowers and Charlie Stenner prepared for their first college days.

Teresa Boyhan Dickinson eventually settled in Florida with the rest of her siblings, who grew up off US Route Forty-Two near the Village of Arnold. At the reunion, she saw her varsity basketball sisters, Lynn, Kathy, Susan Edwards Prochaska and with the team uniform in hand, she reminded us of the team, coached by Marcella Myers, that went four undefeated years, from 1964-68. If there had been Ohio women's state athletic tourneys during that era, perhaps Alder would have had a few extra state tournament trophies, instead of just the two gathered up by Susan's daughter, Laura's squad in 2004 and 2006.

Chuck Reed, current Madison County recorder, had a scrapbook of press clippings from the Washington ceremonies that upgraded Charlie Stenner from major to lieutenant general, commander and chief of the U.S. Air Force Reserves. Charlie and Dee Dee were among the most excited about renewing past friendships.

During the formal part of the afternoon, as master of ceremonies, I welcomed everyone and the committee began to draw names for the door prizes that had been accumulated. Charlie was the first to be invited to the microphone and he responded to the question, "What's it like to fly faster that the speed of sound?"

His answer seemed to demystify breaking the sound barrier, "As you approach mach one speed, you're watching your air speed indicator. When it passes through mach one, the needle on the gauge shakes, but you don't feel any buffet in the airplane. You just continue to watch the indicator go higher; 1.1, 1.2, 1.3."

I spoke on the grand day that I had just one year earlier, when on July 21, 2007, I celebrated my fortieth year as a professional musician, as guest trumpeter on the Twentieth Anniversary concert of the Lancaster Festival Orchestra. That same day coincided with the ninetieth birthday of my mentor and friend, Ray Starrett, who was band director in Jonathan Alder Schools for decades.

As the names of prize winners were offered up and all came forward to make their claim, they were handed a microphone and encouraged to reminisce about a great day in their lives during the past forty. And nearly everyone did, including three of our faculty who joined us for the event; Ray Russell, Dorothy Sayre and Jerry Banyots, who after winning an Alder athletic shirt said, "I look back fondly at those years and enjoy my meetings with former students."

The reunion party went well into the darkness and a bright, full, yellow moon arose over the pond that highlights the Kile farm. Linda walked the perimeter, lit luminaries and after the official farewell was bid, hugs and kisses were exchanged. We collectively repacked left over foods, tables and chairs, and took down the decorations, like the team we were in our youthful years before 1968.

What a grand day was Saturday, August 16, 2009, reuniting with lifelong friends.

Columbus: The Musical Crossroads

The long awaited book, Columbus: The Musical Crossroads, is being released from Arcadia Books and should be in your hands. It is a labor of our team’s love for preserving and exposing the world to our musical heritage, following Listen For the Jazz: Keynotes in Columbus History, published in 1990 and 1992.

Columbus has long been known for its musicians, if not its music. Unlike New York, San Francisco, Kansas City, Nashville, or even Cincinnati, it has never had a definable “scene.” Yet, some truly remarkable music has been made in this “musical crossroads” by the outstanding musicians who have called it home.

Since 1900, Columbus has grown from the 28th to the 15th largest city in the United States, eclipsing in-state rivals Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Toledo. During this same period, it has steady developed into a musically vibrant community that has contributed the likes of Elsie Janis, Ted Lewis, Nancy Wilson, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Dwight Yoakam, Bow Wow, Rascal Flatts, and other “stars” to the entertainment world. However, in many instances, those who chose to remain at home, forsaking the pursuit of fame and fortune, were even better.

David Meyers, Arnett Howard, Jim Loeffler, and Candy Watkins, the team, have been actively researching and documenting the history of music in Columbus for decades. Among the other books we have produced that reflect our interest in local music history, in addition to Listen For The Jazz, are More Columbus Unforgettables, and Columbus Unforgettables, Volume III. Our team also developed the Jazz Ohio Exhibition for the Ohio Historical Society and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.

We have several ways of marketing our short run of books.

1. Stocking local bookstores:
The Library Store, 96 S. Grant Ave., Columbus, OH
Columbus Museum of Art, 480 E. Broad St., Columbus, OH
Acorn Bookshop, 1464 W. 5th Ave., Columbus, OH
Karen Wicliffe Books, 3527 N. High St., Columbus, OH
Used Kids Records, 1980 N. High St., Columbus, OH
Lost Weekend Records, 2960 N. High St., Columbus, OH
Walgreens, 3445 S. High St., Columbus, OH
Walgreens, 975 E. Dublin Granville Rd., Columbus, OH
Walgreens, 4890 N. High St., Columbus, OH
Walgreens, 4530 Kenny Rd., Columbus, OH

2. Selling them off the side of the stage at concerts and upcoming festivals

3. Putting them in the hands of friends and people who have an active interest in the subject of music, the arts and entertainment history.

I hope you enjoy Columbus: The Musical Crossroads. Bright moments and happy reading,

The 2008 Westerville Music Project

The 2008 Westerville Music Project was something I conceived during the spring, as a tribute to the Westerville Sesquicentennial and the city’s legacy as the home of Benjamin R. Hanby. The project builds on the 2007 Westerville Schools Leadership Summit and the Mark Twain Elementary Music Summer Camp, that was administered by Dr. Scott Ebbrecht, principal.

The objective of the 2008 Westerville Music Project was to write and record as many songs as possible with Westerville school students and prepare a series of compact discs and a book to place in the community’s sesquicentennial time capsule. The project involved students in the multidisciplines of song writing, performing, recording techniques, as well as the history and music of Benjamin R. Hanby, Westerville’s most noted historical figure, who was an educator, as well as a composer.

Beth Weinhart, of the Westerville Public Library, expressed an interest in providing Hanby music resource materials from library and Otterbein University archives. Mary Bigham, a volunteer with the Hanby House, also offered to duplicate and provide Hanby scores from her private collection of songs that Ben Hanby used to teach students.

I guess Ben Hanby and I do the same thing, only separated by one hundred-fifty years. I love history, music, kids and I have been having the most wonderful experiences with Westerville students since Bob Abbott brought me and my Creole Funk band to John Greenleaf Whittier Elementary in 1987.

Ben Hanby is said to have written more than eighty songs in his short life (1833-67); most devoted to educating his students. As time passes and the population Westerville community grows with newly arriving families, his name is still present on a school building and the historical Hanby home site, but his life work has been forgotten in the rush of our modern life.

I hope this effort to bridge the one hundred fifty years since Ben made his songs will carry his legacy at least another fifty years. Who knows what young Westerville composer and songwriter might be in the hearts of music lovers in 2058 when Westerville celebrates its bicentennial, opens the Ben Hanby Songs book and listens to these recordings.

I have performed countless events in the Westerville communities; the Music and Arts Festival, Alum Creek Park, Heritage Park, Otterbein College, Central College Presbyterian Church, the Library, the Scoreboard Restaurant and every school building in the district, weddings and parties for local families.

Because of the Westerville Music Project, Benjamin R. Hanby is in the hearts of Westerville students today!

Kidding Around II Released

I do a lot of very cool things in life, however, composing songs with kids is a big motivator. Knowing that before the morning is over there will fun new songs in the world, makes me get up at six in the morning and have a smile, as I carefully rush down the highway to schools in Central Ohio.
My first recording collaboration with youngsters occurred in 1997, Arnet Howed’s Cruel Funk Band, Kidding Around. My second was with students in Grandview Heights, Ohio, I’m a Walkin’, Takin’ Pair of Pants, in 2003.
The lastest collection of rhythms, rhymes, melodies and body noises, Kidding Around II, comes from projects that began in 2006 with the Lancaster Teens C D Project and Schultz School Jazz. The main 2007 event was the Mark Twain Elementary Rock and Roll Summer Camp and 2008 has found me writing songs with imaginative kids at Mark Twain, Pointview and Annehurst Schools in Westerville, Ohio, as well as Pickerington Elementary, in Pickerington, OH.
I was sixteen when I made my first recordings and I hope my fellow musicians on this disc, from aged five to seventeen, can boast (like I continue to do) about how young they were when they made their first appearance in front of the microphones. Music is a love force; long may you sing your songs!

Fred Holdridge in Grant Hospital, Columbus

Dad,

Even though we miss you, you haven't missed much a' anything since you been in 'da' joint.' Terry Dickey's sixtieth birthday party was a real good time; her sisters came up from Dallas and they were not only very attractive, tall women (you know I'm a sucker for a pretty face and long legs), but they could shake it too. The bash ended too early; the old crowd don't party like we used to twenty years ago. But there were some mighty good meatballs; Dave, my bass player, took home the leftovers.

You did missed a lot of good music during Easter week. John Carter and I sounded real good together, although I blew the last three measures of a hard piece on Easter morning. I hope Barbara Zuck isn't too severe in her criticism of my performance.

Well, now that I think about it, you woulda' enjoyed the Cols. Jazz Orchestra last weekend. Their guests, Ken Peploski and Peter Appleyarn, brought back those good old Benny Goodman clarinet days when Lionel Hampton played vibraphone. They played Airmail Special and Flying Home and I never get tired of hearing those songs. Thankfully, we didn't have to suffer through another version of Sing, Sing, Sing, for the ten thousanth time.

The rich people over on City Park returned from boozing, whorin' and drugin' around Amsterdam and we did go see a strangely beautiful Israeli film, The Band's Visit; about an Egyptian Police band that gets lost in the deserts of Israel, in the town of Beth Tivah. Sorry, we didn't eat any popcorn in your honor; I been eatin' way too much of it lately at OSU basketball games.

Byron and Milli Kohn had their fifty-seventh anniversary last Tuesday, with lunch at Shaw's Restaurant in beautiful, Downtown Lancaster. We talked about you; I told 'em you was a mess but too stubborn to kick the bucket and too hard headed to heal.

Well, this is week two of my six week creative period; taxes are due in two weeks, so I guess I can't put in off no longer. One book is done and one more to go, as well as two compact discs. I'm too creative for my own good.

I play a party at Cooper Stadium, Friday. I'll get a box o' corn for you, after I finish the National Anthem! How many of them dime dogs you want?

Sorry, we're not havin' any real fun while you're on vacation. Maybe we can get the warden to give you a furlough; we can go put a cherry bomb in Greg and Catherine's mailbox and wheelchair like hell.

Bright moments from Creole Village from your loving 'sun'!

A